Satellite adjusted his robe as he stood atop a grassy hill overlooking an expansive, gloomy forest. Below him, a flock of newly tamed mounts—oversized, flightless birds with iridescent plumage and comically fierce eyes—strutted around. Their large talons raked the dirt, and their stout, curved beaks clacked with an almost theatrical menace.

  The Dreadbeak Birds.

  Previously, the plan to use these magical birds to assault the bandits’ encampment had been Satellite’s idea. Auralise, the leader of their group, had been eager to expand her influence at the academy, and they had attempted to tame these creatures soon after the assault. Thanks to the Spell Generator program, they had developed a unique spell specifically for taming creatures like these. But even with that edge, the process had been anything but simple—many steps were required before turning them into obedient mounts.

  “Dreadbeak Birds…” Satellite muttered, crossing his arms. “The name makes them sound intimidating, but in the end, they’re still oversized dodos!”

  One of his group members, a tall user named FrozenVolt, or Volt for short, sighed as he watched his bird peck at the dirt. “No kidding. It’s not exactly what I envisioned when I thought of a mighty mount… Where’s the ferocity? The intimidation factor?”

  Another player named StealthPeanut snickered while leaning casually against his own bird. “Hey, at least we’ll stand out. Who else is riding something this absurd? Besides, being chased by a large flock of them is terrifying, and I say this based on experience.”

  Satellite pinched his glabella, trying to suppress his growing embarrassment. “Unique doesn’t always mean better. Imagine rolling into battle on one of these: ‘Ooh, there’s our group coolly marching into battle! But their mounts are dodo birds. Hahaha!.’ People would just laugh at us for riding these. Tigers, lions, elephants—now those are proper mounts. Heck, this is a fantasy game—it should have been wyverns or dragons!”

  Vanerra, a female player who had devised the spell model, gave a lighthearted shrug. “Come on, they’re not that bad. They’re fast, and taming them wasn’t exactly child’s play. We have to hold their eggs hostage to make them submit.”

  StealthPeanut nodded. “Mm, it’s harder to get a hold of their eggs the second time for me too.”

  Despite that, Volt grumbled, “Yeah, fast enough to flee when things get hairy. Meanwhile, anyone on a real beast will look like a hero. On the bright side, though, we are the first group of players to tame a magical beast and a whole flock to boot.”

  Enjoying this book? Seek out the original to ensure the author gets credit.

  Indeed.

  No other groups had managed to tame magical beasts so far, making their group the trailblazers. Even more impressive was that their flock of Dreadbeak Birds numbered forty-two. With proper care, their offspring would soon swell their ranks. Of course, there were problems with maintaining them, such as food, living space, and what have you.

  The upkeep of so many birds was a logistical nightmare. Feeding them alone required a staggering amount of meat—enough to sustain two hundred players. Considering Auralise’s group consisted of only sixty or so members, this put immense pressure on their resources. There was the option of letting the birds roam freely to hunt for food, but that came with the risk of losing some of them in the wild. This meant that they had to somehow make profits to offset the costs.

  “Still,” Satellite began, “there’s bound to be a market for mounts. No other group has managed to tame anything like this. If we play our cards right, players will have no choice but to buy from us. We’ll corner the market and recoup our investment.”

  Besides serving as mounts, these birds could also pull carriages. Since the forest was their natural habitat, they were much better at navigating treacherous terrain compared to horses, and they could fight back in times of attack. A large part of their group’s focus was trading, making this a huge benefit. Other players interested in trading would surely want to get their hands on some themselves.

  “Mhm, I agree,” StealthPeanut said, crossing his arms. “With no competition, we could set whatever price we wanted. Furthermore, their meat and eggs are delicious, unlike the real dodo birds, as said online.” He gulped.

  “True, but feeding these things isn’t cheap,” another player chimed in. “We tried giving them veggies, seeds, and fruits, but they barely touched any of it. I’m starting to think these birds are strictly carnivores, and they won’t eat anything else unless they’re forced to.”

  Satellite let out a low groan, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Of course they are. Because why not make our lives even harder?”

  Feeding domesticated carnivores was notoriously inefficient—a lesson humanity had learned long ago, which was why lion or tiger farms didn’t exist in the real world. Even so, the potential profits and the prestige of being the first to domesticate magical mounts kept Satellite’s group motivated. They just needed to solve one problem at a time.

  Speaking of meat, Satellite recalled the strange discovery they made yesterday—the mangled remains of half-eaten corpses strewn across the forest. The sight had been unsettling, even for hardened players. With recent rumors of a monstrous entity prowling the Thornwood Forest, it had become increasingly unsafe for players—and even more so for the Dreadbeak Birds—to roam free. Extra caution would be required to navigate the verdant terrain.

  “I have a feeling a major update is on the horizon,” Satellite murmured, gazing up at the darkening sky. “And it might decide the academy’s very survival.”

  Just as he turned to leave, a low, guttural growl rumbled from the depths of the forest, cutting through the quiet like a warning. Birds burst from the foliage with frantic cries. The collective sound sent an involuntary shiver down his spine. Whatever was lurking out there was growing bolder, and it wouldn’t stay hidden for long.